brown



3 Sheets-Sheet I.

(No Model.)

0. D. BROWN.

7 FEED CUTTER. No. 393,322.

Patented Nov. 20, 1888.

Iiwenbor:

(No Model.) 3 h -Sheet 2.

O. D. BROWN.

FEED CUTTER Patented Nov. 20, 1888.

N. PETERS, mmmmn m Wuhinghm n a (No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

0. D. BROWN.

FEED CUTTER. Y No. 393,322. Patented Nov. '20, 1888 Witnesses:

mm! I It FETERS. Phowumu nmr, Wnhingim; D. C.

UNITED STATES PATENT OEETQE;

OWVEN DORSEY BROWN, OF DAYTON, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO D. E. MOSHERRY & 00., OF SAME PLACE.

FEED-CUTTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 393,322 dated November 20, 1888.

Application filed January 25, 1888.

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, OWEN DORSEY BROWN, of Dayton, in the county of Montgomery and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Feed-Outters,of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to rotary straw-cutters, and has reference more particularly to that class in which an intermittent feed is employed; but it is obvious that various features of the invention may be applied to other styles or classes of cutters.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective View of my improved machine; Fig. 2, a top plan view; Figs. 3 and 4, enlarged detail views of a portion of the feed mechanism; Figs. 5 and 6, views illustrating the construction and operation of the knives or cut ters; Fig. 7, a view showing the feed-rolls and attendant parts; and Fig. 8, a sectional view on the line 5 5, illustrating the devices for ad justing the knives.

Referring again to the drawings, A indicates the frame-work of the machine provided with suitable boxes 'or bearings, B B, in which is journaled the main shaft 0 of the machine. The shaft 0 is provided at itsouter end with a beveled gear-wheel, D, with which meshes a similar gear, F, carried by a shaft, G, journaled in brackets on the main frame, the said shaft G being provided with a handle or winch, H, by which it may be turned. The main shaft 0 is provided at its inner end with a beveled wheel, I, by which motion is communicated to a similar beveled wheel, J, connected with the feed-mechanism, while at a point between its ends the said shaft 0 is provided with the rotary cutting-wheel K, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The bearingB at the inner end of the shaft O is supported by a standard,L, and connected with said standard and with another fixed part of the machine is a collar, M, which encircles the shaft 0 between its bearings B B. This collar M is provided with a cam, N, which serves to operate the cutting-blades O, carried by the wheel K, as hereinafter described in detail.

T .P indicate upri hts or standards secured to the frame-work of the machine, between which are mounted the feed-rolls Q and R, the lower one, Q, being carried in fixed bearings, while the upper one, B, is mounted in a Serial No. 261,905. (No model.)

supplemental frame, S, which slides vertically in grooves in the standards P P. The frame S, carrying the upper roller, R, is connected by means of links T with the cross-bar U beneath the lower roller, the said cross-bar U being urged downward by means of a spring, V, which is secured to the frame-work of the machine, and serves to hold the upper roller down upon the lower roller, Q, though permitting the said upper roller to rise to allow material to be fed in between the rollers.

Immediately in front of the roller Q, and secured to the standards P P, is a fixed cuttingblade,VV, in conjunction with Which the blades O, carried by the rotary wheel K, act, the shaft of the upper roller, B, being squared at one end to receive a socket, E, formed upon or secured to a shaft, X, which passes loosely through a gear-wheel,Y, journaled in abracket, Z, secured to the frame of the machine. The wheel Y is provided with teeth a upon its periphery, extending in a plane parallel with its axis, and is provided on its inner face with ra- 7 dial teeth b. The said wheel is provided with and rotates upon a hollow hub, c, which is provided with an angular socket to receive the angular or squared end of the shaft X.

Extending transversely through the shaftX is a pin, (1, between which and the inner face of the wheel Y a coiled spring, 6, is placed, and from this construction it will be seen that as the upper feed-roller rises and falls its shaft may also rise and fall without binding its gearwheel Y. The shaft A of the lower feed-roller is provided with a gcar-wheel,B, which meshes with the wheel Y, the said shaft A being journaled or supported at its outer end in the bracket supporting the wheel Y.

The beveled gear-wheel J, which meshes with a gear-wheel, I, is mounted loosely upon a shaft, O, supported at one end in the bracket Z and at the other end in a box or bearing formed upon the bracket or standard L. The 5 wheel J is provided on its outer face with a hub, f, which is provided with a series of longitudinal ribs, extending parallel with the axis of the shaft, and engaging with said hub is a collar, 71, which is mounted loosely upon 1C0 the shaft O, the said collar h being held in engagement with the hub f by means of a coiled spring, 1', which surrounds the shaft and bears at opposite ends against the collar h, and a pin,

j, passing through the shaft. It is obvious that, instead of using a pin passing trans versely through the shaft, a collar may be substituted therefor and secured upon the shaft by means of a set-screw.

D indicates a pin passing transversely through the shaft 0 and bearing against the outer face of the hub f of the gear-wheel J, and it will also be noticed that the inner face of the hub or collar h is provided with sockets to receive or seat the pin D. The hub or collar h is provided with one or more arms, k, which are adapted to fit between two of the ribs (1 formed upon the hub f, as clearly shown in Fig. 4, and it will be observed that when the arms is are in engagement with or between the ribs 9 of the wheel J the pin 1) will be seated in the sockets formed in the face of the hub or collar It. By means of the pin I) the collar h is prevented from rotating upon or independently of the shaft 3, and of course when the collar h is in engagement with the hub of the gear-wheel J the gear-wheel and shaft will be caused to 1'0- tate together. At the outcrend of the shaft Cisa plate or disk, Z, which carries one or more teeth, on, adapted to engage with the radial teeth 6, formed upon the gear-wheel Y. From this construction itfollows that upon motion being imparted to the shaft 0' the teeth m upon the disk I will enter between two of the teeth I) and turn or rotate the wheel Y a distance equal to the width of two teeth and the intervening space, and during the rest of the revolution of the shaft 0' the wheel Y will remain at rest. Of course if the disk Z be provided with two teeth at, as shown in the drawings, for every revolution of the shaft 0' the wheel Y will be rotated a distance equal to the width of four teeth and the intervening spaces, and by varying or changing the number of the teeth upon the disk the amount or degree of rotation of the wheel Y may be varied as desired. As the wheel Y engages with the wheel B upon the shaft of the lower feed-roller, of course a uniform motion will be imparted to both of the feed-rollers.

The broad idea of an intermittent feed, as it is sometimes called, is not new and is not claimed, broadly, by me herein.

I am also aware that it is not new to provide a machine of this character with a clutchhub, by means of which the feeding mechanism may be connected with or disconnected from the main operating-shaft.

A spring, a, secured at one end to the framework of the machine and bearing at its other end upon the teeth a of the wheel Y, serves to prevent the rotation of the wheel Y, except when moved by the teeth of the disk Z, the said spring being held in engagement with the wheel Y by means of a screw-bolt, 0, which passes through the spring and about a portion of the frame. By turning the nut 1) upon the outer face of the spring its force or tension may be regulated as desired.

A feed box or hopper, E, is mounted upon the frame-work of the machine and adapted to guide the material between the feed-rollers Q and It.

The wheel K is provided with two spokes, g, which are grooved radially upon their inner faces, or which, instead of being grooved, may be provided with grooved or undercut plates. The wheel K is further provided on the inner face of its rim at a short distance to one side of the spokes q with lugs s, which may be grooved upon their inner faces, or, as is prefcrred, will be furnished with undercutplates l, as clearly shown in Figs. 2, 5, and (3.

The cutting blades 0 are mounted upon frames a, which are flanged along their edges to engage with the plates 1' and t, as clearly shown in Fig. 2, this construction permitting the frames,with their blades, to move only in a radial line relatively to the wheel.

The frames a are provided at their inner ends with rearwardly projecting fingers e, (which will,advisably,though not necessarily, be furnished with rollers or wheels,) which are operated upon by the cam-plate N, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6. This cam N is provided on its rear face with twolugs, y and a, the former being connected by a bar, 2, with the box or bearing B, or any other fixed part of the ma chine, as shown in Fig. 2. The lug a (shown in Figs. 2 and 5) is also secured to a fixed part of the frame-work or to the frame 1. The longer axis of the cam is arranged a little to one side of a vertical line passing through the shaft 0, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6, and the operating-faces of the cam are so arranged relatively to the shaft and its wheel K that just as soon as one of the cutters passes to one side of a vertical line passing through the shaft the grooved or active face of the cam will draw the cutting-blade O inward radially toward the center of the shaft, the said cutting-blade O finishing its inward movement just after it passes the stationary blade W. By this construction and arrangement I secure a shearing action which makes a clean cut through the material, the feed-rollers remaining at rest during the cutting operation.

I am aware that a feed-cutter has been provided with a cam and with blades pivoted at a point between their ends adapted to be tipped or rocked upon their pivots by the cam; but such construction, which I disclaim, only partially and imperfectly secures the desired shearing action, and will be found in practice to work far less satisfactorily than where, as in the present case, the blades slide radially.

As soon as the cutting-blade 0 reaches, a point above the horizontal plane of the shaft 0 the cam N throws or forces the said blade outward radially,and by the time that the blade reaches a point above the shaft 0, or slightly beyond, it will be at the limit of its outward movement. To adj ust the blades 0 to compensate for wear, &c., I support them at each end upon wedges w, as clearly shown inFigs. 1, 2, 5 and 8, the said wedges being slotted longitudinally to receive bolts or screws :0, which will advisably be riveted or otherwise secured to the blades. The bolts or serewsw also pass through the frames to, and are provided with nuts by which to hold the blades in their adjusted positions; and it will be seen that by loosening the nut and moving the wedges lengthwise the blade may be adjusted with the utmost nicety.

I am also aware that the cutting-wheel of a straw-cutter has been provided with a camfaced hub and with a rotating cam-faced adjusting-disk, by means of which the knives are adjusted to or from their supporting arms and held in their adjusted positions by means of a nut screwing onto the end of a bolt, and such a construction I disclaim. The plan herein shown and described is cheaper in construction and permits the application of the knives to-the wheel.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is- 1. In a feed-cutter, the combination, with a suitable framework, of a stationary cuttingknife, a main shaft, a wheel mounted upon said shaft, cutters carried by said wheel and adapted to move radially thereon, a cam or eccentric secured to the frame-work of the machine, fingers 22, secured to the cutter-frames and engaging with the cam, and means for imparting motion to the shaft, all substantially as shown, whereby the cutters are caused to slide back and forth radially upon the wheel and with a shearing action.

2. In a feed-cutter, the combination, with a suitable frame-work having a fixed cuttingblade, of a shaft, a wheel carried thereby and provided with spokes q and lugs s, grooved plates 7 and it, applied respectively to the spokes and lugs and arranged approximately radial to the shaft, a fixed cam-plate or eccentric, N, fingers 12, secured to the cutter-frames and engaging with the cam, and means for rotating the shaft.

3. In a machine of the class described, the combination, with a suitable frame-work, of a fixed cutting-blade, a main shaft, a cam or eccentric encircling said shaft and secured to the frame of the machine, a rotary cutting-wheel provided with radial ways or guides, and cutters mounted in said ways or guides and acted upon by the cam or eccentric, all substantially as shown.

at. In a feed-cutter, the combination, with a suitable frame-work, of a main shaft, 0, provided at its inner end with abevel gear-wheel, I, and at its opposite end with the cutter-wheel K, feed-rollers Q B, having their shafts extended outward and provided with gear-wheels B and Y, and a shaft, 0, provided at one end with a bevel-wheel, J, and at its other end with a disk, Z, having teeth m.

5. Ina feed-cutter, the combination, with a suitable frame-work, of a main shaft, 0, provided at its inner end with a bevel gear-wheel, I, and at its opposite end with the cutter-wheel K, feed-rollers Q R, having their shafts extended outward and provided with gear-wheels B and Y, a shaft, 0, provided at one end with a bevel-wheel, J, and at its other end with a disk, Z, having teeth m, and a clutch to connect the wheel J with the shaft 0.

6. In a machine of the class described, the combination, with the main frame, the rotary cutter, and the fixed blade, of the feed-rollers having their shafts extended outward and provided with the gear-wheels Y and B, a series of radial teeth, I), on the inner face of wheel Y, and a shaft extending in the same general direction as the shafts on the feedrolls and provided at one end with a gearwheel to receive motion from the main shaft and at the other end with a disk having one or more teeth to engage with the radial teeth I).

7. In combination with the frame, the main shaft, the rotating cutters and the fixed blade, the feedrollers, one carried in movable bearings and the other carried in adjustable bearings, a shaft extending outward from the lower roller and provided with a gear-wheel, a second gearwheel located above the first and provided with a hub having an angular opening through it, a shaft extending from the upper roller through the angular socket in the gear-wheel, a pin passing through the shaft, and a spring bearing at one end against the pin and at the other end against the gearwheel.

In witness whereof I hereunto set my hand in the presence of two witnesses.

OWVEN DORSEY BROWN.

IVitnesses:

DANIEL E. MOSHERRY, J. C. PATTERSON. 

